For example, a fact-finder could conclude that the employer were required to bear half of these costs, which were $200/month, the employee could recover $4,800 over a four-year period and, with interest, that amount could increase by 50% by the time of a judgment. alties under Labor Code Section 203 and included a piggyback claim for violation of the UCL. The amount of the reimbursement will vary and requires a fact finder to allocate some percentage of the cost to the employer’s business and some percentage to the employee’s personal use. 90. ) CHAPTER 5. 993. ) Id. Answer: The three-year limitations period applies because the employer’s liability under Labor Code section 2802 for business expenditures is “a liability created by statute.” (Code Civ. Bain pursued administrative relief and filed his claim with the Labor Commissioner two weeks after his claims accrued, on March 1, 2005. (a) An employer shall … Answer: The two-year statute of limitations applicable to oral contracts. The shorter of the two statutes [one year] covering penalties would likely … 90. ) Subscribe Now. CALIFORNIA CODES ••• CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE. Code § 2802, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database . He also sued for breach of contract based on the settlement, for money had and received, conversion of bond money, and to recover wages based on Labor Code violations. 1937, Ch. © 2020 Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Code Section Code Section. (a).) § 340(a). (2010) 50 Cal.4th 1389.] 1973, Ch. Sebastian Miller Law, P.C. Recent Developments In An Employer’s Reimbursement Obligations. Plaintiff Harold Bain worked for Defendant Tax Reducers, Inc. ("TRI") as an independent contractor accountant. Code Section. California Labor Code §2802 Calling All California Employers: You Must Reimburse Employees for Mandatory Use of Their Personal Cell Phones Even if They Have Unlimited Minutes. Statutes, codes, and regulations. Necessary expenditures or losses include all reasonable costs. The most common examples are mileage, travel, and dining expenses. The California Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court. Proc. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES [920 - 1138.5] ( Part 3 enacted by Stats. Joe Liburt, Renee Phillips and Allison Riechert Giese Posted on September 5, 2014. However, this general rule has a multitude of nuances once one examines all the different costs that arise in the employment context and the various Labor Code and Wage Order provisions that apply. CA Labor Code § 2802 (2016) What's This? (a) An … 13-cv-00563 WHO (N.D. Cal. CHAPTER 2. Many non-exempt employees are required to be available on short notice to do the following: To satisfy these expectations, an employee needs to own a smart phone and pay for monthly minute and data plans. PART 1. PAGA is codified in California Labor Code §§ 2698 et seq. Code Civ. California Labor Code § 2802: Employers’ Duty to Reimburse California Labor Code section 2802 requires employers to reimburse employees, “for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee” while completing work duties. Furthermore, employees may recover significant additional sums under the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) which provides for cumulative civil penalties each time an employer violates a section of the Labor Code. If you miss that deadline, you risk losing your right to pursue that particular claim simply because you waited too long to act. Political Affiliations [1101 - 1106] ( Chapter 5 enacted by Stats. at 483. Labor Code § 2802(b)-(c). The Court observed that the equitable tolling rule suspends the running of the limitations period through the date on which the decision in the first action becomes final. But, “the employer must provide some method or formula to identify the amount of the combined employee compensation payment that is intended to provide expense reimbursement.” Id. Sec. So any 2802 claim will now be analyzed under the following simple framework. DIVISION 5. 340(a).] On August 28, 2013, in Bain v. Tax Reducers, Inc., the California Court of Appeal held that the statute of limitations for statutory wage claims could be suspended ("equitably tolled") while a plaintiff pursued his administrative claim before the Labor Commissioner. To hold otherwise would allow the employer to pass its operating costs onto the employee. The trial court awarded Bain just over $25,000. Code Civ. 90. ) [Cal. Proc. Thus, the court concluded that Bain's statutory wage claims were timely. The costs the employee incurred were not reasonable; The costs the employee incurred were not necessary to the employer’s business; and. While there is no time limit for filing complaints with the Labor Commissioner under Labor Code section 98, the Commissioner previously has adopted the same statute of limitations applicable to civil suits. A 2802 action is based on an employer’s statutory violation and therefore a three-year statute of limitations applies. If the employer violates section 226, then the employee may assert a separate claim under PAGA as well. Read the code on FindLaw , . § 2802 (a) An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful. Statute Of Limitations On Wage Claims Tolled While Plaintiff Pursues Labor Commissioner Remedies. 4th 1094, 1109. Statute of Limitations: Labor Code 1102.5 – general whistleblower protection: Three (3) years to file lawsuit in California Superior Court 25: Labor Code 98.6 – whistleblower protection for reporting labor law violations: Six (6) months to file complaint with California Labor Commissioner 26, or three (3) years to file lawsuit The employer discharged its 2802 obligations by paying increased salary or incentive compensation. (a) If an employer willfully fails to pay, without abatement or reduction, in accordance with Sections 201, 201.3, 201.5, 201.9, 202, and 205.5, any wages of an employee who is discharged or who quits, the wages of the employee shall continue as a penalty from the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefor is commenced; but the wages shall not continue for more than 30 days. The issue of the statute of limitations with respect to vacation was explored at length in Church v. Jamison, 143 Cal. Cal. 2802. Do you use your personal cell phone to take work-related calls or send work-related emails?  Do you sometimes work remotely using your personal computer and/or internet access from your home?  If your employer knows that you have incurred these costs then California law likely requires that you be reimbursed for them. The second defense is stronger. 1937, Ch. This statute applies to employers with 50 or more employees. § 338(a). California Statute of Limitations for Common Employment Law Claims. Further, AB 970 amends Labor Code section 2802, the statute requiring reimbursement of employee-incurred reasonable business expenses. Labor Code § 203; Pineda v. Bank of America, N.A. The US Federal Statute of Limitations For Federal Crimes. Thus, PAGA could increase an employee’s recover by $1,300 (25% of 5,200). He had two concurrent remedies to recover his unpaid wages: he could seek judicial relief by filing a civil action, or he could seek administrative relief by filing a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner. Thus, if the employer has not communicated this method to employees ahead of time and stated it is intended to satisfy the 2802 obligation, the employer has little chance of proving the defense. 1937, Ch. This will generally present a factual question and is the sort of argument an employer will attempt to offer to defeat class certification. California Labor Code Section 2802 states an employer shall indemnify his/her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in the direct consequence of the discharge of his/her duties. First, which statute of limitations applies to Church’s Labor Code claims for unpaid wages? Obligations of Employer [2800 - 2810.7] ( Article 2 enacted by Stats. … EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION [200 - 2699.5] ( Division 2 enacted by Stats. Cal. Read Section 2802, Cal. DIVISION 3. California Labor Code § 2802. A 2802 action is based on an employer’s statutory violation and therefore a three-year statute of limitations applies. Labor Code § 300 (Wage Assignments Limited): Wage assignments are invalid unless they meet the requirements (e.g., written statement specifying transaction for which assignment occurs, spousal consent, notarization, maximum 50% of wages assigned and assignment is revocable at any time) of this section. Answer: The three-year limitations period applies because the employer s liability under Labor Code section 2802 for business expenditures is a liability created by statute. However, Labor Code section 203 provides that an employee may sue for “these penalties at any time before the expiration of the statute of limitations on an action for the wages from which the penalties arise." 1102.5. Both sides appealed. To see the importance of the ruling in Cochran, consider an employee who purchases a smart phone or a computer or pays monthly fees for a minute plan, a data plan, or home internet access. Id. Labor Code § 2699(f)(2). But the remedy will not be to deny reimbursement, just to decrease the amount to, say, $250. No employer may do any of the following: (a) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages. Instead the employer must pay some reasonable percentage of the employee’s bill even if the fact that she used it for work did not cause any marginal increase in the amount of the bill. Cal. The Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court and held that Bain's statutory wage claims were not barred by the three-year statute of limitations because they were equitably tolled. For failure to pay overtime wages based on an employment agreement or personnel policy, the statute of limitations is four years from the date of violation. Bain resigned from TRI on February 18, 2005, after TRI allegedly failed to pay him for seven weeks of work and failed to reimburse him for accrued business expenses. 25% of the PAGA penalty is paid to the employee and 75% to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. There, the court concluded that the statute of limitations on a claim for vacation pay under Labor Code section 227.3 accrues on the date that the employee is terminated. 90. ) Thus, an employer cannot assume that the pendency of administrative proceedings will inure to its benefit in terms of later asserting a statute of limitations defense if the employee chooses to file a civil action for statutory wage violations. 1937, Ch. Some statutes of limitations are relatively short. But it is now clear that 2802 applies to a much broader universe of items. © 2020, all rights reserved. Rather, an argument against the “reasonableness” of expenses will generally seek to decrease the denominator of the equation not eliminate it altogether. 1973, Ch. An employer might also assert that it expected employees to return to the office to perform all of their work and, therefore, home office and other remote-work expenses were not “necessary” but rather for the employee’s convenience. 90. ) All State & Fed. 993. ) Whereas actions based on statutory liabilities generally must be commenced within three years, actions for penalties need be commenced within only one year. Labor Code section 2802 gives no direction as to whether costs of employee training are to be borne by the employer or employee, and the Court found no cases addressing training as a cost covered by section 2802. 1937, Ch. On March 1, 2005, Bain filed a claim for unpaid wages, waiting time penalties, and expenses with the Labor Commissioner, alleging that he was misclassified as an independent contractor. California has two statutes, Labor Code sections 232 and 232.5, that protect the rights of employees to disclose information about their compensation or working conditions.The first, Labor Code section 232, was enacted in 1984, provides:. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the employer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court or the Labor Commissioner that the act or omission giving rise to the action was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of any provision of the Labor Code relating to minimum wage, or an order of the commission, the court or the … Recommendations for Employers The expanded Labor Commissioner authority to pursue liens creates an even greater incentive for … 2016 California Code Labor Code - LAB DIVISION 3 - EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS CHAPTER 2 - Employer and Employee ARTICLE 2 - Obligations of Employer Section 2802. Bain's claims accrued on February 18, 2005, at the time of his resignation. Employers have three basic defenses to an action under Section 2802: The first defense will almost never be a complete one. However, the Court held that Bain's claims for penalties under Labor Code Section 1194.2 for TRI's failure to pay him the statutory minimum wage, which is subject to a one-year statute of limitations, was barred since he filed his complaint more than one year after the decision in the first action became final. Search the Law Search. Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Divisions Two, Case No. The cases cited above make clear that the employee must be reimbursed for some percentage of the costs she incurred to provide her own internet access, computer, smart phone, etc. 4th 1568 (2006). [Cal. The employee also must own a computer and pay for internet access so she can manipulate word documents, excel files and so forth. Disclaimer: All materials have been prepared for general information purposes only to permit you to learn more about Sebastian Miller Law, P.C, its services and experience.  The information presented is not legal advice, is not to be acted on as such, may not be current and is subject to change without notice. For example, an employer might argue that spending $1,000 on a cell phone was not reasonable. § 338(a). Code Civ. Wage Statement Violations — Claims for penalties under Labor Code section 226 for violations of the itemized wage statement requirements must be filed within one year. An employer might assert it did not expect or require employees to work remotely or respond to emails or calls while they were outside the office. Code: Article: Section: Code ... Labor Code - LAB. 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